"It's usually not like this here!"

When we moved to Nebraska in the midst of a heat wave (August 1988, 110 deg. at 11 a.m.) the refrain was, "It's usually not like this here!" After 18 years I can tell you, "Yes it is!" As we have made the transition to St. Louis we have been told repeatedly that the weather here is much milder than Lincoln and that there might be two or three days in the winter where there is a skiff of snow that melts away by midafternoon.

This morning we are hearing the old refrain, "It's usually not like this here!" The equivalent of 30" of snow comprised of rain, sleet, ice, and snow (leaving a 4-5" layer of tundra) fell in the last 36 hours. It has left 500,000 people in the metro area without power. Luckily, we hicks out in Eureka are fine; and in fact, despite the dire warnings it was the best commute I've had. Hardly anyone was on the road and I-44 was mostly clear of ice and slush. This morning I fired up my trusty Husqvarna snow blower (I actually thought about getting rid of it given the reports of MILD weather) and cleared snow until I ran out of gas. I'll have to finish up when I get home and hopefully help the neighbors because I did not see another snow blower on our entire street.

Being a dedicated employee, model department chair, and most importantly, the new guy that needs points I'm here in the office with lots to do and no interruptions from students, faculty, or the Dean (makes it hard to score those points so I'll probably sneak out early). So, this old Rocky Mountain-bred, Great Plains-acclimated, Mississippi Valley transplant will forge ahead and retain a polite but disbeliving perspective on, "It's usually not like this here!"